r/banddirector

TL;DR: seeking advice on graduate and post graduate degree paths from people who went back later after having kids.

I happily taught elementary music for 10 years, and last year made the jump to secondary. The school I’m at now I am surrounded by phenomenal leadership that has pushed me to grow in ways I never was in public school.

On top of that, I’ve started playing in a high level brass band. All of that has awoken a real spark in me to grow. I really want to get a masters in conducting but the only school close to me is USF and they’ve told me it’s basically a non-starter to do it while I’m teaching. They steered me towards their revamped masters in music ed, but to be honest I really don’t want two ed degrees because I’m worried that if I ever decide to go for a doctorate I’ll be pigeonholed. On top of that we have four kids under 5 at home so not working for two years isn’t an option for me. I have considered doing trumpet performance but I’m not sure how much it aligns with my real goals. I’ve also considered composition but again, I’m not sure it will open enough of the right doors.

Those of you who went back later for graduate and post graduate degrees, what would you do different and what did you learn along the way?

When they can't even get half the notes going under tempo? We're working on Washington Post March in one band, and trying to play at tempo (or close to it) means we fall apart after about 2 measures. However, they don't seem to be making the connection at all... They seem to think that "if we just try it over and over and over at full tempo, we'll get it!"

I've explained it to them, but I must be missing the part that makes it click. Anyone have better ideas about getting students to understand why we rehearse under tempo when we're still working on notes and rhythms?